


Untitled.jpg

by ballistic_Renegade



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 08:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30136605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballistic_Renegade/pseuds/ballistic_Renegade
Summary: Soulmate AU where character A’s photos duplicate on B’s phone, and the other way around, too.
Relationships: Timothy Lawrence/Rhys
Kudos: 12





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**Author's Note:**

> [Translator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_another_cog_in_the_machine)   
>  [Beta-reader](https://archiveofourown.org/users/viintaas)

It was a fine summer day, the sun was at its zenith - and almost all the tables in the cafe were occupied, waitresses busily pacing between them and taking orders. A pretty girl deftly placed two coffee cups, salad, and a piece of cake in front of two office clerks, and immediately ran to the next table.

One of them - tall, wearing a stylish three-piece suit, was looking at something on his phone screen with annoyance. The second one took a napkin with a deliberate movement, tucked it into the collar of his shirt, and began to eat his salad.

“And why are you so glum today? Someone sent you an ugly report?”

His friend didn’t react, deep in his thoughts.

…Because, after all, in his not-so-long life, Rhys had never encountered anything like this. Photos just suddenly appeared on his camera roll — And if at first he thought that this is a result of him overworking, now he couldn’t deny that it was something more than a hallucination. — once in two or three days, as if by magic, the gallery was replenished with new photos. Photos he never made.

“Ugh, again!” An annoyed “tsk”. “Just- Just look!”

He turned the phone screen to his bro-bro, who awkwardly leaned forward, distracted from his salad. Napkin didn’t save his beard from some crumbs falling on it.

“You know, maybe it’s just some stupid prank?”

“And a little girl who's obsessed with cats and nature is joking with me?”

Vaughn hastily chewed the rest of the salad and held a finger up with a smart look on his face.

“Who said that it has to be a _little_ girl?”

“Hm…” - He looked closely at the photo, where a white cat was looking up with interest, it’s blue eyes staring directly at the «photographer». - “Quite a tall girl, if you think about it”

"Maybe it's your destiny!"

“Ha.Ha.Ha. VERY funny.” - Rhys sipped his coffee and grimaced.

“Hey! You are the one who was complaining about how weird these files are!”

He thought about it - Indeed, mysterious photos did not waste a single byte of memory, their source could not be found on the network, and somehow they just disappeared on their own after some time, as mysteriously as they appeared. Even a simple screenshot turned into a pixelated mess and made his poor device reboot for hours. Clerk frowned, looking at the newest picture - an extremely fluffy red cat with chic whiskers. It looked like it was smiling at him, squinting its clever eyes.

“By the way, I read about some urban legend...” Vaughn chewed a small piece of tomato. “You know. «Soulmates», and stuff.”

“And you believe in this?”

“I don’t know.” - he shrugged. “But it said that this stuff is duplicated on the other person’s phone too. So I hope that you don’t have anything… Uh, unusual here.

Rhys shook his head. Nope. Due to a hardware error, the resolution and clarity of his camera was more likely to make someone laugh, not impress. At first he couldn't find any time to replace it, so he ended up just getting used to it. The clerk glanced at the numbers the screen showed and decided that it’s time to go.

* * *

  
  


“What do we have here?”

Weird, but mysterious photos appeared exactly during lunchtime. And more and more often he found himself thinking that for some reason they made the food taste better. And life too?

Before that, he never thought that there was so much greenery in the city, and that it could be so beautiful. That stray cats are just as pretty as their purebred counterparts. And that he worked so hard that he stopped paying attention to the ...sky. How could he forget about how charming it is? But mysterious photos reminded him about how different, magical and alive can it be, and at some point he felt like he could touch these fluffy clouds through the screen.

The soft translucent haze of early morning, rich blue of the sweltering midday heat, crimson and scarlet of sunsets and mysterious indigo of evenings. He even had found himself catching the aroma that circled around the mysterious girl behind the camera; flowers, fresh-cut grass, wooden odor, perhaps, he could call it a flavour of a sunny summer day.

As time went on, Rhys realized more and more that he wanted to meet her in person, to find out who was that girl who made these mysterious pictures. 

She made simple, mundane things seem so interesting, it seemed that they would surely have something to talk about. But the newest photo changed the situation...

Because this time, the picture showed a hand - a strong, tan, with which the photographer was scratching the chest of a contented black cat. Rhys looked closer at the skin which was flecked with freckles at the wrist. And that wrist was clearly not a woman's, it was too wide.

The clerk shrugged and finished his coffee, happy after got the first clue for the mystery around the girl to dissipate. He gently rubbed the screen with his thumb, like the stranger he was trying to find pet the stray cat.

And then the flow of photos stopped.

* * *

Soft haze of a late summer slowly began to dissolve into the cool air of the coming autumn. With each photoless day passed by, the feel of emptiness Rhys felt has become almost unbearable; the man barely ate anything, every two weeks changing his lunch place as if it could help him untie the knot in his throat. On top of all that, Rhys’ best friend got promoted to the new department, and Rhys got himself suddenly moved to another building.

After taking the last sip of his disgusting coffee, he stood up, and could hardly believe his eyes - because a new photo appeared! And it wasn't a fluffy kitty or a motley urban green.

It was him. On the photo. He was holding a coffee cup in one hand, reading some printout with detached thoughtfulness in his eyes. It looked… good, Rhys had to admit it. And then a realization hit him - this photo meant that this mysterious stranger sure was somewhere nearby!

He stood up and looked around, suddenly realizing how stupid he must have looked. He sat down, disappointed, and got his attention back to the photo. But soon, it disappeared. 

It only got worse when he moved to a new place. He kept seeing more and more photos of himself; mindlessly going to work, standing by a magazine stand pensively, and there even was a shot of him eating a terribly made street hot dog. Even this unappetizing process was shown pretty good on this photo. (Weird, but this one did not disappear for a particularly long time).

"Why don't you go to the police?" Vaughn suggested.

“Bro, they are disappearing! How am I supposed to do that if they are disappearing!?”

No matter how hard he tried, he could not catch the stranger, and he realized that now he was simply too tired. So, when new photos appeared, he didn't even want to open them, didn't even want to look at them.

“Well… For the last time.” he grumbled reluctantly. And then he was stunned by the picture.

It was because Rhys could remember this place pretty clearly - a small antique shop, with a tinted display case, which was so convenient to use as a mirror. Just like a couple of days ago — he overslept and was in a hurry, straightening his tie before an important meeting, looking at himself in the wide window. But that wasn't the reason for his excitement. The reason was that in addition to him, there was a reflection in the glass — the man was the same height as him, but way more built, dressed in a simple plaid shirt and some old jeans. He carried some books wrapped in brown paper under his arm. Books? Rhys glanced quickly at his watch, and, making up an excuse as he went, hurried off to find that man.

* * *

  
  


He was lucky - the photo didn’t disappear yet. When he was there, out of breath, Rhys looked around - yes, there was that tinted window, next to it was an old laundry, a little further away was a Chinese restaurant, and opposite it… And opposite it there actually was a bookstore. Small, but cozy. And at some point, the clerk wanted to turn around and run away, but he rapidly pushed the thought away and grabbed the door handle. The doorbell rang melodiously.

“Good afternoon, how can…” The stranger stopped once he saw him.

Just for a second, Rhys forgot how to breathe. Was it because of an urge to strangle the man that has been unintentionally messing with all this time or, instead, kiss the hell out of him, Rhys couldn’t decide in a snatch. The air became warm, sweet-ish, suddenly; the man beside him seemed oddly familiar, as if they had met somewhere in the past and had known each other for ages, but by some ridiculous accident, both had unintendedly forgotten that ever happened.

“So… You like cats?” Rhys said without thinking. ”And sky? And green… Plant stuff.”

He took a confident step forward, lost in the strange, fluttery feeling in his heart.

“Y-you… You saw my photos?”

“Yes. Very good.” — Rhys ran his thumb over the other's warm cheek. The feeling is much better than touching the cold glass of the screen. — “And you're pretty good, too.”

The stranger, - Rhys glanced at the badge pinned to his shirt pocket - Tim, looked away and blushed deeply, but he didn't back down. And after a while, he even had the courage to take the clerk's hand in his.

“And you really liked them?”

Rhys nodded, and squeezed Tim’s warm palm a little. A hot, beautiful flower seemed to bloom in his chest.

“So when's your next break?” The clerk gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, and whispered: “Would you mind discussing a couple of... new sceneries?”

Timothy nodded dumbly, moving like a toy with a broken mechanism, then awkwardly leaned forward. The sensation was strange — it was as if the clerk had been hit by a truck and drugged with the strongest dope at the same time — and all this was from one simple kiss.

They were distracted by the ringing of the doorbell, and Rhys reluctantly put his hand away and took a step back.

"I..." Tim cleared his throat. "I’m finishing at 2pm."

"Great." he said, ignoring the old woman who was whispering some question next to him, and pecked Tim on the nose once more. “See you soon, then.”

“Y-yea…”

When Rhys was about to walk out of the shop, Tim ran up to him and showed a little piece of paper into his pocket.

“My phone number. Just so we don't get lost.”

“Thanks. But I don’t really need it - kitties and the sky will always help me to find you.”


End file.
